Saving Each Other
by hfcmfan2013
Summary: The team heads to Detroit to assist the police in a series of murders that are connected by words and wounds. Morgan notices Reid acting unlike himself and is determined to figure out what's going on. Will they find the killer? Will Morgan get Reid to talk? Set in Season 9, but does not relate to this season!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, so this is a new story that I'm posting! It's an original idea I've had for some time so I hope you all like. Set a year after Maeve's death, so technically in the middle of season 9. Will feature the entire Criminal Minds cast and then other characters from my imagination. References from an episode in Season 1 may also be noted. Please review, I really appreciate it and it helps me write better chapters. Thanks, and Enjoy!**

He stares at her from a safe distance in his car, making sure not to raise any suspicion. He knows the people in this neighborhood would be able to detect anyone foreign from those who lived there. He watched as she made her way down the street, opening the door and making her way into the building. Taking the chance he drives up to the window of the building she had entered. He sees her putting away her bag, changing her shoes and entering another room full of mirrors and other girls. He watches as she gets down to the ground and starts stretching her legs, looking as elegant as ever. Her hair tied tightly into a ponytail, the tank top she wears showing every curve of her body, the shorts and tights she wears making her legs look longer than they are. She looks beautiful.

He gets distracted when a noise behind him sounds; he looks behind his seat to look at his passenger lying on the floor of the back of the car. His mouth is taped; his arms also taped behind his back and his ankles. Dried blood runs down the side of his face where he had hit him with a brick. Panic is in the passengers eyes, his screams muffled behind the tape. He had managed to grab him before he made his way into the same building she had, he couldn't let him get away. He reaches his hand behind to pat his passenger's head.

"There, there now. It's all gonna be ok now. You never had a career in this anyway. She does; I'm not going to let you ruin her chances. I'm giving you an easy way out."

Turning around, he takes one last look at her. He sees now that she's laughing with the other girls in the room. _I'm going to make your dreams come true, _he says. He drives off, him with a smile on his face, his passenger sobbing. He loves how his plan is working perfectly, better than he ever hoped. Within a week he would solidify this plan, and make her career happen. That thought put a smile on his face. _Now just to finish some business. But how do I get to the next guy?_

Derek Morgan sits at his desk, looking around the bullpen at his team. He sees Blake working on a profile at her desk; Rossi in his office on the phone; Hotch is with JJ in the lobby walking their way in, talking about something serious. Or at least he thinks, by the look on their faces. Morgan turns his attention to Spencer Reid, a man who's been like a brother to him since he came into the BAU all those years ago. Morgan had been through almost everything with Reid, helped him through more than he could remember. He had always been awkward when out in public with the team, whether on a case or not, but never when they were in the compounds of the FBI building. Usually during their times not in the field and stuck in the office, he would be pulling jokes on them or rambling about some new statistic or topic he found interesting. Today, he was doing none of those; today, his back was turned and he was just staring into space, one hand gripping his chair handle tightly the other one holding his head. This worried Morgan; he knew Reid had suffered from migraines in the past, but they had been under control for the past few months. Was something wrong? Were they occurring again? Morgan had to find out.

Morgan got up from his seat heading towards Reid's desk, intending on talking to him, when he was stopped by Garcia.

"Hey, my chocolate thunder! I have that recipe you've been asking for. Finally remembered to bring it in; you've been asking for it for months now." She hands him a piece of paper and he takes it, but she notices he isn't paying attention to her. Waving her hands in front of her face she says, "Hello, earth to Derek Morgan."

He finally seems to notice her. "Sorry, Baby Girl. What were you saying?" He feels something in his hand and looks to find a piece of paper in it. "What's this?"

"If you were listening 30 seconds ago, I said that's the recipe you've been waiting months for," Garcia said slightly annoyed. She hated repeating herself. "Are you ok? You're never not focused when I talk to you."

Morgan looked away from Garcia to take a glance at Reid but noticed he was no longer sitting at his desk. Sighing he says to his Baby Girl, "Does Reid seem ok to you? I noticed before you came over he was clutching his chair handle and holding his head; it looked like he was having a migraine."

Garcia thought for a moment before shaking her head no. Reid had seemed like himself the last few times she had seen him. He always said hi to her and answered any questions she asked him. "Maybe he's just having an off day. Let it go; I'm sure he's fine."

Morgan was about to press the issue when he heard Hotch say, "Conference room team. Morgan, Garcia, Blake let's go." They all make their way up to their round table, Reid, JJ and Rossi already waiting.

Garcia grabbed the remote and started the presentation. "Ok, so you are heading to Detroit, where in the past 3 days, three bodies have been discovered scattered around the city but all with the same fatal injuries. Abby Spittle was our first victim, found three days ago. Wrists were slashed and she had two stab wounds to the abdomen. Lauren Shepard was our second victim, same wounds as Abby. Terri Renolds is our third victim, he was found yesterday with the same wounds as well."

Hotch picks up, "Each of them were found in high drug traffic areas, but don't have any drug connections. None were reported missing, and none had signs of sexual assault. Ages are different, and he's crossed gender lines; Abby was 17, Lauren 19, and Terri was a 20 year old male. There's one more thing that connects them. Garcia, the photo."

Garcia clicks the remote and a gruesome photo appears on the screen. Written on the wrist of each victim is 'out of the running'. Everyone stares at the screen, trying to make sense of what the message could mean.

It's Reid who speaks up first, "It's clear he's trying to send a message, but the question remains: what, exactly, does the message mean? And who or what is the message for?"

"If he continues his pattern, we could have a new victim by the time we get there. The ME said the victims were killed less than 24 hours before they were found. Wheel's up in 30,"

At that everyone got up to gather their belongings. Morgan took a quick peek at Reid before he escaped the room. He seemed fine, but Morgan couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with him. He couldn't explain it, it was just a gut feeling he had. Something came to Morgan's mind as he watched Reid walk away back towards his desk. Reid's comment was the first time he had spoken to anyone that day, and it was mid afternoon by now. This was not the Reid he knew. Something was defiantly wrong with his little brother and he was going to figure out what it is.

**What do you guys think so far? Please comment with anything you'd like to say or any suggestions, I always appreciate it. Thanks you all, I'll update when I can!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone, here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long, but I hope you like this! Enjoy, reviews are encouraged and welcome to make me a better writer. Thanks! =)**

Morgan quickly gathered his go-bag from his car and made his way onto the jet, running possible reasons why Reid was acting so strange. He saw him clutching his head and the handle on his chair, classic signs of a migraine. Yet when they were in the conference room Reid didn't show any signs of discomfort or pain; Reid, however, was good at masking any discomfort he was in. Once they had finished their briefing on the jet, Morgan was determined to talk to Reid and get an answer, even if he had to pry it out of him.

As he walked on the jet Morgan noticed everyone was there except Reid, which surprised him. Reid had been the first one out of the BAU once they had gotten dismissed; he should have been there by now. Morgan purposely made sure he got to the jet with 10 minutes left to try and get his brother to talk to him. "Where's Reid?" he asked his friends as he took his seat.

Hotch looked up from the file he was looking over and replied, "He should be here soon, said he had to run home real quick, he forgot something important."

Just as Morgan was about to say something else, he heard Reid come walking in. Taking his usual seat on the couch he says, "Sorry guys, traffic was bad around my apartment. Didn't mean to keep you waiting." Morgan noticed that as Reid sat down, he was slightly squinting and seemed to be out of breath. "Has there been any new information?"

"None so far; Garcia will keep us in the loop if anything new comes in. Let's go over what we know," Hotch says as the plane began to take off.

"Alright, we have someone abducting teenagers and killing then without drawing any suspicion in the area. Suggests he knows the area well enough to know when nobody would be around to notice the act," Rossi starts off.

Blake spoke, adding in, "None of these kids were into drugs, had none in their system but were found in high drug traffic areas. Could be his was of demeaning them to look like they did it on the slide, or to make them look less like the good person they were."

"I think the later if he's trying to demean them. They weren't sexually assaulted, which also suggests the guy could be getting the sexual high from being able to abduct them without anyone seeing him and then killing them, along with dumping their bodies without any detection," Morgan added in.

"What's the significance to what was written on their arm though?" asked Reid. "There's nothing historical about the saying, when it's said it usually refers to politics. These kids were too young to be fully involved in politics. It has to have a personal message from the Unsub."

At that moment, before anyone else could add in thoughts, Garcia appeared on the screen. "Hey Baby Girl, what do you have for us?" chirped in Morgan.

"Well I did some digging into our current victims and they lived very different lives. Abby was still in high school, a private high school, while Lauren and Terri were at a local community college. They ate at some of the same restaurants but at different times, same with any other activities. They do, however, have one thing in common: they were all dancers at one of the local dance studios in the city. They were on the same competition team, competing all over the state."

"What do you know about the owner?" asked Reid.

"Well, the company name is Passion Star Dance Studio, been under the direction of Judy McMorrow for the past 20 years. Never had a run in with the law, not even a parking ticket, and no criminal record. She never married and she lives in an upstairs apartment above the studio."

"Thanks, Gar-" Morgan started to say when he was stopped by Garcia.

"Guys Detroit PD just alerted me that another body has been found. Same slashes to the wrist, stab wounds and words written on the arm; this time, however, the words have changed. Take a look."

Now up on the screen were the words 'dream killer', written in red blood on the wrist of their newest victim. "Do we know who the victim is, Garcia?" asks Hotch.

"Yes, because he's friends with some of the policemen. His name is 50-year-old Mitchel Cup. He was found in a high drug traffic area but, like the others, never did drugs. He was born and raised in Detroit, was unemployed for almost a year. No wife, but he does have a daughter named Roxie. She's 19, attends the same local community college as two of our other victims and she was also a dancer but at another company on the other side of the city. She's safe, local PD are heading to the studio now. He was never reported missing; just like the others no one knew he was missing. The studio Roxie attends is called Break Through Dance Center. She and her dad actually live there, Roxie teaches classes and that covers their rent. Owner is also clean, no record."

"Alright when we land I want JJ and Rossi to head over to the first few crime scenes. We may not get anything from them, but it's worth a shot. Blake and I will head over to the newest crime scene after we meet up with the local police. Reid and Morgan go over to the dance studios and gather as much information you can about the victims. Once were all back at the station, we'll talk to Roxie," Hotch says. "Try to get some rest, we'll be landing in a few hours. This sounds like a difficult case."

After that everyone went and did their own thing. Hotch and Rossi continued to look over the files, Blake was reading, JJ was eating some Cheetos. Morgan took a look to see where Reid was, and found him sprawled out on the couch. He took his chance to speak to him before he fell asleep.

"Hey Pretty Boy, you ok? Been awfully quiet, have been all day. Anything going on?" Morgan asks.

Shaking his head Reid responds back, "Just tired. Haven't been sleeping well the past few nights." He then closed his eyes and fell asleep before Morgan could ask any more questions.

Morgan took a look at his sleeping brother and knew something was off. Even as he slept he could see the tension in Reid's face, he could see the pain, as he would squeeze his eyes tightly then relax after a while. Morgan thought of waking him up, making him talk to him, but stopped when he saw the bags and dark circles under his eyes. He had been telling the truth, that was for sure. _Let him get his rest,_ he told himself. _You will get him to talk eventually. _

Morgan walked back over to his seat and placed his headphones over his ears. As his music played, he would glance over at Spencer. Nothing was going to stop him from helping him. Eventually Morgan found that he, too, had closed his eyes, only to be woken up when the jet landed in Detroit. Taking a quick glance at Reid, Morgan was happy to see the darkness under his eyes had lightened slightly; it was still there and very noticeable, but just an hour of sleep had lessened it greatly. As a team they walked off the jet and then went their separate ways to their destinations.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, here's the next chapter for this story. As always thank you all for the reviews, they've been a big help with my writing. Keep them coming, it really does help me. Hope you all like this chapter. I will be mentioning songs throughout this story since it involves dance; I do not own the songs, the songs belong to the bands that have written them. But you should check them out if you haven't heard of them; I'm only mentioning bans that I love. Enjoy!**

Hotch and Blake stood looking at the area where their latest victim had been dumped, looking for any clues that their UnSub might have left them. He had heard back from JJ and Rossi and, as he predicted back on the jet, they couldn't gather any new information from the previous dump sites. A light coat of snow had covered the ground in the few hours it had taken them to get to Detroit, their new crime scene was almost just as useless; anything new they could have found was compromised because of the snow. Hotch walks back over to where Blake and Detective Jones are.

"We're not going to be able to get anything from the crime scenes; the UnSub must have a personal connection with his victims," Hotch says.

"Where they were dumped are true dump sites, this UnSub views them as trash, garbage. Detective is there anything you remember about the day they were found, the posing of the bodies? Anything that seemed out of place to you?"

After thinking some the Detective speaks, "As far as I remember there was nothing significant. They were just laid out on the ground. The only thing odd was they were found where people often do drugs or sell them, and none of them ever did drugs. It was druggies that found them."

"We'll find their connection in their histories; I'll have Reid work on it when he and Morgan get back from the studios. Let's head back. There's nothing else we can gather from here."

Back in the warm comfort of their SUV, Blake brings something up that had been bothering her since that morning. "Does Reid seem alright to you? He hasn't been acting like himself lately."

Hotch starts to drive off back towards the station, not saying anything right away. He had, indeed, noticed the way Reid had been acting the last few days. Solemn, withdrawn, didn't really speak to anyone unless he had to, keeping a steady pace with his paperwork, some days not even stopping for lunch. Hotch had an idea what their young genius was going through. He would talk to Reid when they had some alone time; he knew only he would truly be able to help him.

"I'm sure he's fine. Just give him some space, he'll be ok," was all Hotch said. If Hotch was right about what Reid was going through, he wouldn't want everyone hoarding over him. Blake doesn't speak for the rest of the way back to the station, for which Hotch was grateful for. If Hotch was right about what Reid was going through, he would be doing a lot of talking soon.

Morgan was driving down the road heading towards the dance studio where Roxie Cup was dancing and living. He and Reid had just left Passion Star and the owner after having a not so informative conversation. The owner, Judy McCormick, was positive her dancers were killed by other dancers that went to Break Through Dance Center. She couldn't stop talking about how her dancers were going somewhere with what she was teaching them and that the owner of Break Through Dance was nothing but crap. It was clear to both Reid and Morgan they hated each other, but the question remained if just the owners hated each other or if the other members hated each other as well.

Reid sat quietly in the passenger side, looking straight ahead. To Morgan he seemed better than he had on the jet, he was more awake and alert as they talked with Judy McCormick. He hadn't seen him squint his eyes or look in pain at all since they arrived; maybe Morgan had worried for nothing.

"What do you think we'll find at Break Through, huh? Think that owner will be just as crazy?" Morgan asks Reid, trying to get him to talk again.

Reid thought for a moment before he says, "Definitely not someone I would want to hang out with, let alone teach me dancing. Not that anyone could ever teach me, I can't dance."

"Oh come on Pretty Boy, I'm sure someone could. You just have to want to learn. Anyone can learn how to dance, even you with your two left feet," Morgan jokes, laughing slightly. He stops though when he sees Reid staring out the window, a lost and hurt look on his face. Had Morgan gone too far? Reid wasn't usually affected this hard by Morgan's teasing. "Reid, if I went too far I'm sorry."

Reid shook his head, still staring out the window. "No, it's ok Morgan. I know it was a joke. It's fine." Reid went back to being silent.

Morgan knew it was now or never to get him talking. "Reid, are you ok? You've been really out of it lately; I'm not the only one who's noticed. I'm worried about you. You know you can talk to me about anything right?"

Reid clears his throat before he speaks, not making eye contact with Morgan. "I know. Things have just been crazy in my personal life lately, work has been stressful and my sleep patterns have been all over the place. I do know I can talk to you, but everything is fine. I'm ok, just more tired than normal. You don't have to worry."

Morgan was about to speak when they reached their destination of Break Through Dance Center, surprising both Reid and Morgan. They expected it to be the same size as Passion Star, small but big enough to hold three large dance rooms. Break Through, however, was a four story building that looked like a large factory. The surrounding buildings were one story stores with maybe an above apartment, looking run down and well maintained. Break Through looked like it had been remolded not too long ago. This was definitely something out of the ordinary for Detroit; this would be seen more commonly in New York City.

"You ready?" Morgan asks Reid. Reid nodded his head and they both got out, met up with the local officer and walked their way into the building. As soon as they walked in they were blasted with multiple sounds: music playing from the three studios visible, people cheering and yelling from the rooms. Almost right away they were greeted by the owner and founder of Break Through, Michael Fitzpatrick. After introductions Reid and Morgan got right down to their questions.

Taking out his tablet Morgan pulled up the pictures of the victims from Passion Star. Handing the tablet to Michael Fitzpatrick, Morgan asks, "Do you recognize them?"

Taking one look Michael responds, "Yes, they're dancers at the other dance company in the city. Talented kids, they had a lot of talent in the art of dance. Even with their talent I wouldn't teach them."

"Why is that?" asks Reid. This is the information they could only get from him.

"They had very poor technique. Dance is an art and in any art it all goes back to basics, something none of them put any focus on. If someone wants to be a part of my dance company, especially my dance competition team like they were looking to do, technique is something they must put focus on. Judy from Passion Star is a talented choreographer but she places no emphasis on the basics. I can't work with people like that; it's why we don't get along. We see each other at competitions and criticize each others' routines and she just can't accept what I say."

Morgan and Reid look at each other, then Morgan asks, "Do the students of the studios interact at all? Do they get along, or do they argue with each other as well?"

"They all go to the same school, have some of the same classes. As far as I know, they get along just fine."

Reid speaks up. "We need to talk to Roxie Cup. We have to ask her some questions."

Michael sighs then says, "I'll lead you to her. She's in the gym with some of the advanced dancers, working on some acrobatics for some of their routines. She's been a mess since her father's death, not really talking to anyone and focusing on her routines. The cops already tried to get her to the station; she refuses to leave here."

They walk through a set of double doors and walk into a large room, one the size of all three front dance studios combined; roughly the size of the standard gymnastic center. Hard wood covered half the floor, the other covered in soft blue matting. The room painted a soft yellow color, keeping the atmosphere calming even though the action going on in the room was far from it. For a moment Reid and Morgan couldn't believe the people they were seeing performing back flips and cartwheels were dancers, not cheerleaders.

"They're practicing routines?" Morgan asks in disbelief. Morgan looked to Reid, who seemed to be very intimidated by the young women and men in the room performing acrobatics.

"Yeah, they incorporate them into their routines. It fits best with the songs they choose and it adds bonus points in competition. Roxie is the one in the blue tank top in the back," Michael says to them.

Morgan and Reid spot her right away and can't believe what they see. A young girl with brown hair in a tight bun, arms so toned it was easy to spot where her biceps and triceps are, face showing no emotion, wearing a blue tank top and black athletic shorts, is Roxie Cup. Morgan and Reid watch as she runs and does a cartwheel going into a double back handspring and lands it perfectly.

"You want to talk to her, or should I do it?" Morgan asks Reid, a slight bit of laughter in his voice. When Reid doesn't respond Morgan takes a guess that he'd be leading in asking Roxie questions. They follow Michael towards where Roxie is sipping some water. When Roxie spots them coming, Reid sees that this may be a tough question and answer talk. He thinks this because in Roxie's eyes he sees one emotion that he often feels when this time of year comes around.

Fear and hatred.

**OK, I know I introduced a lot of new information, names, and people in this chapter. I try to make it easy to follow, but if you have any trouble please leave a comment or message me and I'll make it as clear as I can. Ideas for this story just come to my head as I write, and while I do re-read what I write before I post new chapters, I can make mistakes. So please, so you can enjoy this story more, if you are confused about anything please let me know. I do answer back. Thanks again for the reviews, they really do help!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, so sorry for not posting in a while! I've just been crazy with homework and all other aspects of life. Thank you all for the reviews, they've been really helpful. This chapter is mainly going to deal with Reid trying to get through to Roxie; I just feel I can't write the team discussing the crime very easily. I'm also using a character from another book, that character is Ponyboy from The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. All rights for that character go to her! Any input you would like to share is welcomed, just make it nice and be respectful. Thank you all, enjoy!**

As they approach Roxie, Reid sees she's already getting uncomfortable with their presence. Morgan had shared with the team on the jet that they may have difficulty getting much information out of some people, which is why Hotch had sent Morgan and Reid to the studios; Morgan because he could relate to the kids and Reid because he wasn't threatening in anyway whatsoever. Reid had told Morgan he could do the talking, but he wasn't sure if Morgan would be able to get anything out of her. When they get closer Roxie sits on the bench and a young man joins her. Morgan ignores him and starts talking.

"Hey Roxie. I'm SSA Derek Morgan; this is my friend Dr. Spencer Reid. Can we ask you a few questions?"

Roxie looks up at them and simply says, "I already told the police what I know. I just want to be left alone now." Reid could see she was starting to get upset, clutching her hands around her arms and shaking slightly. If Morgan noticed the signs he didn't acknowledge them; he simply continued.

"I know they did, but any other information you provide us can help us find who killed your father." When he received no response from her, he just went on. "Was your father being watched at all? Did he mention anything to you? Was he ever out at odd times and didn't come back for a while?"

The last question seemed to get Roxie's attention because she jumped off her seat. The young man standing behind her tried to calm her down but had no luck. "You're accusing my dad of being out at night doing something illegal?!" she nearly yells. Before Morgan can speak she continues on, "You want information, here's your information. My dad didn't do drugs, he didn't drink. He was always looking out for me, always had my best interest in his head when he made decisions. He helped me with my talent; he encouraged me to keep learning and improving when we had no money and lost our house when I was 8. He'd find any job he could to help me through school and college. I was his life and he was mine; we're all we had for each other. He had no friends." Tears were no streaming down her eyes, and her shaking was more noticeable. "There's your information. Now leave me alone; I told the cops I'm not leaving here and that's final!" With that she runs up some nearby stairs, opens the door then slams it as she disappears.

Morgan and Reid stand there in shock. Neither of them had come across a victim that gave them such an outburst before. They look at each other, not knowing what to do in that moment. The young man that had been standing behind Roxie comes to stand next to them.

"Sorry about that; she's usually not like that. She's never been a fan of cops before and with them pestering her the past few days she hates them even more. I'm Ponyboy; I'm kind of her only friend here." He holds out his hand and Morgan takes it, shaking it, while Reid waves.

"Did you know her father very well?" Morgan asks.

Ponyboy nods his head. "Yea, better than anyone else here. Even Michael. Her father is part of the reason that I'm here, actually."

Michael speaks up for the first time since Roxie's outburst. "If you want I have a spare room where you three can talk." He leads them out of the gymnasium and into a small room that looks more like a changing room for the dancers. It has a large table and some benches inside but that's all. Ponyboy and Michael take a seat in two of the chairs while Morgan sits in another, Reid chooses to stand.

"How'd you first meet Roxie and her dad?" Morgan asks. Reid still looked too shaken up to talk.

"There's a talent show at the community summer picnic held at the end of every summer. I'm left alone a lot because my brothers' work and my parents died when we were young. I don't know how but I learned to dance and I kept learning new moves from others I would watch. A couple summers ago I decided to come up with a routine to do at the picnic and was practicing in the gym at school when she came in. I was having trouble with one part and she came over and helped me. It turned into a duet and we won first place that year. She had been here for a year already, but when her dad saw how well we were together he convinced Michael to give me a test run here. That was 3 years ago; I've been here ever since."

"Did he ever say anything to you that made you concerned? Was he ever around any people who seemed to be the trouble type?" Morgan asks.

Ponyboy shakes his head and responds, "No. Anytime we were out anywhere he was always either with us or the group if we were out for competition. He hardly left here; only to walk me and Roxie to the bus stop to get to school."

Michael adds in, "He really cared for the both of them. Roxie's mom died when she was young and had a hard time letting people in. He took care of Ponyboy like he was his own child; helping him with his school work when he needed it and giving advice to both of them."

"Did he have any enemies? Did he and Roxie ever get into any arguments?" Morgan was surprised when he heard Reid asking these questions, but he didn't speak or look at him. He wanted to give Reid the chance to help in the investigation.

Both Ponyboy and Michael shake their heads. "He was a good man looking out for his daughter and his 'son'. I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt him…or even the other dancers," Ponyboy says. "Roxie and I shared some classes with them but we never really talked, and we never argued. On competition days when we saw them we acted friendly."

Morgan looks over his shoulder to make eye contact with Reid, who nods his head. They know for now that's all they would get until Roxie was ready to talk further. Morgan dismisses Michael and Ponyboy with a 'thank you' and they get up and leave. Just as Morgan is about to walk out the door, Reid grabs his arm and keeps him in the room.

"Morgan, I think I should stay here," Reid says slowly.

"Why Reid? We can't push Roxie to talk; you saw what happened when I tried talking to her. She cut me out and yelled."

"Morgan, no offense to you, I know you didn't mean to, but you offended her. She had her hands wrapped around her in a protection mode, she wasn't making eye contact in the beginning, and she was shaking. In times such as this, when you don't even get the chance to say goodbye to someone you love, you feel like you have to defend them. You asking her those questions implied an image that's not who her father was and she just felt the need to protect his image." Taking a deep breath he says, "I think I can relate back to her more than you can. Let me try."

Morgan looks at Reid and sees a look on his face he hasn't seen in a long time: determination. He can clearly see his friend's intentions and knows nothing will be able to stop him, maybe not even Hotch. Sighing he says, "Ok, I'll head back to the station and talk to the rest of the team. You'll call if she tells you anything?" When he sees Reid nods his head he says, "Ok then. Talk to you later then."

Reid watches Morgan get into the SUV and drive off. He takes another deep breath and sighs, leaning his head against a wall. The headache he had been hiding from the team all day was back full force buts it was bearable. He wonders what he just got himself into, but feels he knows the right approach to get Roxie to talk. He starts walking back into the room where they had first talked to Roxie and walks up the steps to where she had disappeared.

Back at the station the team sits around the evidence board with all their crime scene photos pinned on. They still remain stumped as to why these people were killed: their only connection so far being a passion and involvement in dance. At this point they couldn't even pinpoint if or when the killer would strike again. Hotch was about to call Reid and Morgan to find out where they were when Morgan walks into the station, but no Reid with him.

"Were you able to get anything from the studios?" Hotch asks Morgan.

"The Judy woman is interesting to say the least. She fully believes some student from Break Through is responsible for her students' death, but Michael says his students didn't have anything to do with it. Roxie told us her father wasn't involved with anything and he was devoted to her."

"Where's Reid?" Rossi asks. "He went with you didn't he?"

"Roxie kind of blew up on us, so Reid stayed behind to see if he could get anything else out of her. Hotch he was determined; I couldn't talk him out of it."

"I'll let him stay behind for a few hours, but I will need him back here later. For now let's dig into the lives of the victims more. There has to be a connection somewhere."

Everyone starts to look through the files but Morgan was distracted. Reid had actually seemed like himself again but yet still not fully himself. He knew something was going on with the kid, but he pushed it aside for now, focusing on the case at hand before they had another death.

Reid walks around the building, trying to find where Roxie may have disappeared to. He had found the room where she and her father were living in but she wasn't there and she wasn't in their cafeteria. Walking around some more he hears a noise coming from one of the rooms down the hall; following his ears, he finds himself looking in a window to one of the many dance studios in the building. There is Roxie with a group of dancers', working on what he assumes is one of their routines. He can't help but notice the set of complicated moves they're doing but how in sync they are together. He feels a tap on his shoulder and jumps slightly, calming down when he sees it's only Ponyboy.

"They're good aren't they?" he asks Reid, watching them as well. Ponyboy sees Reid nod his head up and down, still fully entranced by what he sees Roxie and the group doing. "It's one of her favorite routines. Everyone thought it'd help her calm down."

"What's the song?" Reid asks. He doesn't know why, it's not like he would be able to talk about whoever had come up with it.

"Bring Me to Life by Evanescence. They've been working on it for months. Some of the dancers hope with this performance and their other routines they'll be able to move up to the professional level. It's a tight competition, with only so many people in the US being selected. Michael has been working Roxie hard, getting her ready for it."

"She definitely seems ready for it. She has talent," Reid says.

"She didn't mean to blow up on you guys like that," Ponyboy says after a moment of silence between them. "She's just going through a tough time."

Reid shrugs his shoulders and says, "Of course, she just lost her dad. Anyone would be devastated with that kind of loss."

He hears Ponyboy sigh. "It's not just who she lost. It's also the day."

Reid looks over at Ponyboy and sees tears are in his eyes but not falling. "The day her dad died is also the same day her mom died."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, I am so sorry for not updating in almost a month! I have just been so busy with school and work; I just haven't had the time for writing. The good news is now I should because school is done with, YEAH! This chapter mainly focuses on Reid and Roxie; I just find I'm not that great writing about the whole crime aspect. But I hope you guys like this. Again, please leave comments; I love hearing your opinions on how I'm doing. Thanks guys, enjoy!**

Reid walks down the hallway slowly, letting the information Ponyboy had just told him sink in. _The poor girl, _Reid thought as he walked slowly along. _Not only losing your dad but your mom too, and on the same date just years apart. _Reid could now better understand the outburst she spewed at him and Morgan when they first arrived. _I can relate to her more than I ever thought. _Roxie and her group had finished their practice and had left the room, Ponyboy leaving Reid by himself to check on Roxie.

Reid squinted his eyes and tried to block out the light coming from the lights overhead him. The headache Reid had was coming back full throttle, becoming more painful and harder to ignore. He hadn't had one this bad in a long time and didn't have any of his usual remedies' on hand with him. As he was walking up the steps that would lead him back to the gymnasium where they had first spoken to Roxie a sudden urge to throw up stopped him in his tracks, leaning against the handrail to keep himself steady. Breathing slowly and deeply he cursed to himself for ignoring the sings he noticed days before. _You know they get bad around this time of year, you idiot. It's your own fault you feel like crap. Just pray it passes so you can get back to work; the team doesn't need to know about this._

After a few minutes the nausea passes and Reid slowly pulls himself up off the floor, still gripping tightly to the handrail. Still taking slow deep breaths and moving slowly he finally reaches the door but before he can get his hand on the knob his vision blurs violently and he sways, unable to keep his balance. Suddenly the door opens and the even brighter lights in the gymnasium assault Reid; he slams his eyes shut and whimpers as the pain in his head explodes. He hears someone calling his name but he can't respond, his voice won't work and he doesn't dare open his eyes. The pain is so great it feels like an ice pick is being slammed in his head. He feels someone put his arm over their shoulder and him moving, but after that nothing. He sinks into unconsciousness, oblivious to whom has him and where he's going.

Roxie was just heading back to her room in the studio after saying bye to some of her team members, who were heading home for the day. She was exhausted both physically and emotionally. She had always hated this day, but more so now that it became an anniversary of both her parents deaths. She may have not liked her mom that much, seeing that she left when she was young, but how can someone not care for the person who brought them into the world? Walking up the steps all she thought of was how she couldn't wait to get in her room and take a nap; sleep had escaped her the past few nights and she was ready to catch up. She opened the door and was shocked to see whom she found.

There on the floor was one of the agents who had spoken to her earlier. She had liked him slightly better than the other agent because he didn't ask her aggravating questions about the only person who had ever loved her. Looking at him now she could see something was wrong, besides him being on the ground. He was slightly pale, sweating, his eyes were squeezed shut and he was whimpering, a hand clutching near his stomach as if he were about to be sick. Roxie recognized the signs easily and knew what to do.

Kneeling on the ground next to him, she calls "Dr. Reid?" to see if she can get a response but gets no such luck. She can see the amount of pain he's in just by looking at his eyes and knows he's probably not even hearing her. Carefully she places one his arms over her shoulder and one of her hands around his abdomen, supporting most of his weight. As they start walking towards her room, she feels him go completely limp and knows he passed out from the pain. Roxie was thankful her room wasn't that far down the hall and it was only slightly difficult getting him there.

Reaching her room she dims the lights so that it's almost completely dark, but not quiet, and places the agent down on the bed her father used to sleep on. Seeing that he's still slightly pale Roxie places Reid on his side, just in case he did end up getting sick, a bucket by his head. Roxie heads towards her closet where she keeps her towels' and grabs a small one, bringing it to the sink and wetting it with cold water. After squeezing the excess off she places it on Reid's forehead, covering his eyes as well.

_I hope this helps you, Dr. Reid, _Roxie thinks to herself as she covers him with a blanket. _It's what my dad used to do for me. It always helped. _Roxie debates on telling Michael or calling that other agent but she knows the best thing for a migraine after it got that bad was sleep. Not wanting to leave him alone, Roxie grabs her laptop and headphones and sits in a chair far enough away so the light coming from her laptop wouldn't bother the sleeping agent.

He follows behind her at a safe distance but keeps a close eye on her. He knows she takes a couple different routes home and he can't afford to lose her now, not when this may be the only chance he gets. Seeing the path she's going to take, and knowing there's an alley right there, he runs and snatches her, pulling her into the alley. He cups a hand around her mouth so she can't scream…not that that'd get anybody's attention, not in this area. Pulling her into the darkest part he starts his assault, slapping her in the face and shoving her to the floor.

"You think you're going to take her spot, are you?" he screams at her, one hand still covering her mouth while the other reaches to grab something from his back pocket. "You have money, you have your parents; she has nothing anymore. I'm not letting you stop her. No, I'm stopping you before you even have a chance." He pulls the knife out and the girl screams behind the hand clamped on her mouth. The knife goes down and the screams stop. Reaching for her right arm he carves in a message, thinking as he does so. _This is all for you, Roxie. You're one step closer now. _After he's done, he gets up and leaves, satisfied with his work and knowing he's almost done.

The team was stuck. With all the information they had in front of them they couldn't come up with anything to help find the killer. Suggestions had been brought up but nothing solid; even Garcia was having a frustrating time with this case. Just as Morgan was about to call Reid the chief walked in, not looking happy.

"Another body was just discovered, just five blocks from Break Through. It's one of their dancers."

Hotch takes control. "Morgan, call Reid and head back to the studio. See if you can get Roxie or Michael to talk and gather information about the newest victim. The rest of us will head to the crime scene."

They walk out together, Morgan in a separate van to get Reid. He takes out his phone and dials his friend's number.

The sound of his phone going off is what wakes Reid up. He reaches into his pocket and opens his eyes to answer his phone, but stops when he sees something blocking his vision. Picking it up he sees it's a cold cloth. _Where'd this come from? _He wonders as he puts it to the side and answers his phone, closing his eyes and his head is still pounding but not nearly as bad as before. "Reid here."

"Hey kid, it's Morgan. Listen I'm coming back over. We got another victim."

"That's an escalation," Reid says rubbing his head and letting out a quiet sigh. His head still kills. "It's only been hours since the last body was found."

"Yea, I know. Hotch is sending me over so we can try to talk to Roxie and Michael again. I'll be there in 15 minutes."

"See you then," Reid says and hangs up, sighing much louder now. He sits up in the bed he's in, rubbing his eyes and forehead. Looking around he sees he's in a dark room unfamiliar to him, a blanket on top of him. Sitting up slowly he puts his head in his hands and places his feet on the floor. He jumps slightly when he hears a voice, one that's vaguely familiar.

"How are you feeling?" Reid looks up and sees where the voice is coming from. Roxie sits in a small chair a few feet away, her face illuminated by the light coming from a laptop on her lap. Reid sees the concern in her eyes.

"Slightly better," he responds. "Head still pounds like a bass drum, but the nausea is gone along with the dizziness and blurred vision." Why he was telling this to a girl he just meet he couldn't be sure; for some reason it was just easier to tell her than anyone else on the team. "What happened?"

Closing her laptop Roxie moves to sit on the bed near Reid, keeping some distance between them. "I was walking up the steps and when I opened the door you were gripping the handrail and in pain. I tried calling your name and got no response, so I carried you to my room and placed you on the bed. You were suffering from a migraine, a bad one at that too. What do you take for them?"

Shaking his head slightly Reid replies, "Some home remedies' that I don't have with me; they're back in DC. I haven't had one on a while, nothing like this. I'll be fine."

Roxie gets up off the bed and heads into the small bathroom in the room, coming back with a medicine bottle in hand. "How about Excedrin Migraine? I take it all the time; it helps a lot."

Reid hesitates. He had only ever taking Tylenol for any pain before, nothing stronger because of his past. However, Reid knew if Morgan saw him the way he was now he'd tell Hotch and Reid would be off the case, something he didn't want at all. Reluctantly, Reid takes the two pills Roxie gave him and swallowed them, taking the water she had for them graciously. He finished off the water and says, "Thank you."

She takes back the cup and looks out the window as she says, "So that other agent is coming back? Who got killed?"

Standing up Reid stays where he is as he says, "Yeah, he's coming back. Someone did get killed but I don't know whom. We'll know when he gets here; he told me we had to talk to you and Michael."

This time it's Roxie who sighs. "That can only mean it was one of ours. Great just what I need, someone else I care about lost in the same day."

Reid sees the opportunity in front of him and takes it before Morgan shows up. "You know Roxie…I know how you feel."

Laughing slightly Roxie glares at Reid. "No you don't. You have no idea how I feel."

"I actually do. You keep wondering why you're still alive and their not. You keep thinking 'if I had just done this, then maybe they could still be here with me'. Most of all…you're sorry they suffered so horribly and didn't get the chance to say 'I love you' or 'goodbye'." By now Reid had tears in his eyes and it wasn't because of the headache.

Roxie stays silent for so long Reid wonders if she's ok. "How do you know that?" she whispers so quietly Reid can barley hear the words. He looks up and sees she, too, is almost crying, having tears unshed.

Walking closer to her Reid looks directly into her eyes and says, "Because one year ago exactly…I lost the love of my life. I never meet her until the night she died; she was killed right in front of me. I never got the proper chance to say either 'goodbye' or 'I love you'. Roxie, I know your pain."

Without warning Roxie closes the distance between them and hugs Reid tightly, sobbing into his shirt. Uncharacteristically, Reid allows her to stay there, holding onto her tightly and letting her cry. He knows from personal experience that sometimes that was all a person needed. This told Reid that Roxie trusted him and he only hoped with her help they'd be able to find the killer before anyone else had to die.


	6. Chapter 6

How long they stayed in the embrace neither knew. What they both knew was that they both needed it; Roxie to be able to let everything she had been holding in out, and for Reid to know he could not only let out his grief but hopefully help Roxie deal with hers. Reid remembered clearly the depression he felt in the weeks following Maeve's death, how he isolated himself from his family, how he didn't take care of himself, how he wouldn't talk to any of his family when they checked on him. If it hadn't been for Morgan getting him involved in the case, Reid could have easily slipped deeper into his depression. He didn't want that for Roxie; he vowed he'd be there for her and help her through this tough time.

When she seemed to calm down Reid decided to try and distract her. Looking around he saw her laptop in the chair she had been sitting in previously, light still shining from the screen and he could faintly hear music. "What were you watching before I woke up?" he asks her when she starts to pull away.

Sniffling she replies, "Just an old competition from a few months ago. Michael is trying to help me advance to the next level so I'm just looking to see where I can improve." As she walks over she asks, "You wanna see, or will the light bother your head?"

Reid was surprised to feel the difference already; that medicine really was helping. While his head still hurt it was only a fraction compared to what it was earlier. "I'm feeling better already. I'd love to see." He moves over to the desk Roxie had placed the laptop on and he takes a seat next to her. "What was the one you were watching before? I wanna see one I haven't watched here yet."

Thinking to herself for a moment she goes back to the home screen and scrolls through a list of dozens of videos. "This one," she says, "is one of my favorites. It took us almost a year to finish it, and we've won quite a few awards for it.' She takes out the headphones and adjusts the sound so it's high but not too high.

"What's the song?" Reid asks as Roxie clicks the video link and as it loads.

"_Home _by Paradise Fears. The song spoke to all of us; it was an easy pick."

They both stop talking when the music comes on. Right from the beginning Reid is amazed at what Roxie and the other dancers are able to do and how clearly he was able to see their facial expressions and emotions. He could easily see fear, desperation, confusion, sadness and joy on their faces and their movements; the execution of the movements clear, sharp and dead spot on Reid couldn't find anything that needed to be fixed. Listening to the words he could also see why they had chosen the song, so many of the lyrics could fit him as well.

"…_why am I everywhere but home? Why do I feel so alone when everybody's screaming out my name? I just wanna go home, pack my bags and hit the road, knowing all I need to find is the life I left behind…"_ She was singing the lyrics quietly but Reid could tell those few lines were the most important to Roxie, for reasons that were easy to know, especially right at this moment. They were often things he wondered and felt himself. The months after Maeve's death he always had that feeling that he was alone even when he was surrounded by his friends, whether they were on a case or meeting outside of work. He always felt that if he could just pick right back up to where he was before Maeve was killed, maybe even before he had 'met' her, he'd be fine. He could relate to this song more than he ever thought he would, and in a way, relating back to Roxie.

When the routine was done she stopped the video. "That was amazing Roxie," he said quietly. "You did an amazing job."

"Thanks," she said softly, getting up and grabbing a water bottle from a small refrigerator. "It was my favorite…my dad's too." She walks to the window and looks outside, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. She speaks back up shortly after. "How did you cope? You said you never saw your love until the night she died. How'd you manage that? I can't get over the fact my dad left for a few minutes to grab us dinner and he never came back; that I never got the chance to really say 'good-bye'."

Staying seated he looked up at Roxie, looking right into her eyes. "It wasn't easy". He talks briefly about the case, Maeve's stalker, and her being killed. "After that I shut everybody out. My friends still came by, to check on me, make sure I was ok. They'd ring the bell or knock and I just…I didn't want anything to do with them. They'd leave eventually but the hurt never went away. It still hasn't. It's been a year and I still feel the pain, I still feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest. That feeling never goes away, Roxie, it will always be there. But you learn to cope. You learn that there was nothing you could have done to prevent it. You did everything you could to let them know you loved them, that you always will love them. Physically they may be gone, but they'll always be with you here", he finishes, placing one hand over his heart.

Roxie walks back over and they embrace each other in another tight hug. Right now it's what they both need. They stay that way for a while, not knowing there's someone watching right outside the door.

Derek walked up the steps heading towards Roxie's room. Right when he got in he went to talk to Michael about their latest victim, Amanda Life. All he had managed to gather was that she was dedicated to dance, didn't do drugs or drink and was a sophomore at a local university in the next town over. Basically, she was like the other victims; there was nothing that stood out. Morgan only hoped Reid had gotten Roxie to talk and then maybe they could find a connection.

When he reached the door to her room it was slightly ajar. He was about to knock when he heard Roxie and Reid talking, and instead of barging in, he listened, hoping he may be able to catch something that could help with the case. His heart almost broke as he listened to Reid talking about Maeve, and then all of a sudden it hit him. The way he was acting, the migraines, him being more tired than normal; all of this was because it was one year ago Maeve died. Morgan wanted to kick himself for not noticing and being there for his friend, his 'little brother'. _After this case I'm gonna make this right, _he says as he watched Reid and Roxie embrace each other in a hug that seems to be keeping them together.

He gives them some time and when he notices them letting go of each other he knocks on the door. Reid looks up and puts on a fake smile.

"Hey Morgan. What'd you find out?" he asks. Morgan could tell by his voice that he'd been crying without even looking at his tear stained face. Getting back to business he relays the information he gathered.

"The victim was Amanda Life. Sophomore at the university in the next town over, dedicated member here and didn't do drugs or alcohol. She was found in an area similar to where the others were found." Morgan turns to Roxie, preparing for an encounter like they'd had earlier. "Roxie, could you tell us anything about Amanda? How well did you know her?"

"She was practically a sister to me. We were on the same competition team, had practically all the same routines with each other. When I first got here she helped me adjust. She was helping me with some of my solos so that they'd be perfect when I showed them to the committee-"

"Wait," Morgan said. "What committee?"

"The committee that selects what dancers they pay attention to move onto the next level. Right now we were both on the Advanced Senior competition division but Michael got us on the list to potentially go professional. She was helping me and I was helping her."

Reid spoke up. "Do you know if anyone else on the list from here or the other studio were on the list?"

Shaking her head she says, "No, Michael called us in individually about a week ago with the results. All I know is that a lot of people were looking to go professional but only a few got selected by the committee. The only reason I know Amanda got selected was because she asked me for help accidentally. My dad had a fit when he heard I was being considered."

"Why is that?" Reid asked.

Sighing Roxie says, "He loved seeing me happy with dance, and he knew how good I was…but he couldn't see how I could make a career out of it. He wanted me to go off to college and get my degree, even though I had no idea what I wanted to do, find something that could provide an income for years and be steady. It got into a small fight, but he was coming around slowly when he saw how dedicated I was to it."

"Do you know the committee name, or have the letter at all?" Morgan asks. This is the break they've been looking for.

"Michael should have them in his office; he only put down his contact information so none of us would be bothered all the time."

"I'll be back," Morgan says as he walks out the door, heading to Michael's office. It's quiet in the room for a few moments but then a beeping noise comes from Roxie's laptop. She turns around and sees she has a new email. _That's strange, _she thinks to herself. _I never get email. _She opens it and sees it's from an unknown sender but the subject line reads 'open immediately'. Roxie opens it and gasps when she sees what's on her screen, pushing away from her desk and into Reid.

"What is it?" he asks, and all Roxie can do is point to her screen. He looks over and is just as shocked as Roxie.

The email shows bloody photos from all the victims, the messages carved into their arms. But what's most disturbing is the message typed on the bottom, underneath all the photos. In bold letters it reads, '**this is all for you, Roxie. No one will stand in your way. I hope you like this, they were holding you back. I'll see you soon.**'

Just as Reid finishes reading the email, he hears something crash to the ground. He looks up and sees Roxie paler than should be humanly possible and swaying on her feet. He just manages to grab her as she faints. He brings her over to the bed and places a new wet cloth on her forehead, then takes out his phone and calls Garcia. After telling her to see if she can trace where the email came from, he hangs up and looks at Roxie, still pale and unconscious. This case just got raised to a whole new level.

**Thank you everyone for reading. Please review; they really do help my writing. Thank you! Also, go on iTunes or Youtube and type in Paradise Fears; they're an amazing band with really good music. Home is one of their songs and it's my life.**


	7. Message for Readers

**NOT A CHAPTER!**

Hey everyone, sorry this is not a new chapter. Just wanted to tell you all that I'm going to re-write this from the very beginning. Reading through it I want to add some more details, make things clearer and others have been writing saying they can't stand the story because there are so many spelling errors. I'm going to leave this story up for now, but once I'm done with it the story will be finished, clear some confusion people have been writing about and hopefully have less spelling errors. Thank you all for understanding; I'm also going to be doing this for my other story "How Will he Recover?" which will have a new title once it's complete.

Thanks again everyone, the support is appreciated!

- hfcmfan2013


End file.
